Monday, February 15, 2016

Podcasts is a free app in the App Store. Podcasts allows the teacher to gain personalized learning on a multitude of topics anytime, anywhere. (Check out this blog post to learn more podcasts as professional learning.)

Teachers can use the same concept in the classroom. Have the students create a podcast about a recent book instead of writing a book report or about a science topic instead of creating a poster. Podcasts don't have to end up in iTunes. Podcasts could be a list of links on a website, Wiki, and classroom blog.

One resource you can use to create a podcast is Vocaroo. This website allows you to record your voice and download it as an MP3.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

If you have any future movie makers in your classroom, then you want to download this app. iMotion by Fingerlab is a free app of the iPhone or iPad. The app allows you to create stop motion movies with ease.

To start, the students need to have an idea of what movie they are making and what props they will need. Once they have finished planning, they are ready to begin. Students will start by clicking "New Movie".

Before you click "start", double check the photo options. It is default to take time-lapsed images. I would suggest changing it to manual. This allows the students to control when the pictures are taken. You can also title the movie on the screen. Giving your work a title is always important!

Once they hit start, the fun begins. The students make their stop motion movie one picture at a time.

When the movie is finished, the students can share it to the iPad's Camera Roll. From there, the movie can be shared onto YouTube or other outlet. Notice the padlock. That is because I am using the free version.

The link is an example movie my daughter made one evening. Click here for example.

Students will have a lot of fun with this app! This is a perfect resource students can use to explain a concept or topic. Each image can be a step in a multiple digit math problem or retelling a story using Legos or another action figure.

If you want to dive into other stop motion apps, check out iStop Motion. It does cost $9.99 though.

Do you use stop motion apps in your classroom? Share your experiences with us!

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Numbler is one of several apps created by BrainingCamp. I came across Numbler over a year ago and it immediately reminded me of Scrabble. Numbler is currently $0.99, but there is a Numbler Free edition if you want to check it out first.

To start, you must create a new game. You can play offline against the "computer" or another person. If you play against the "computer", you can select the difficulty. You can also play online using the Game Center. Check with your school/district policy before letting students play online games within this app.

The object of Numbler is to create number sentences using the numbers and operations provided. Once you have created your number sentence and clicked on "play", player 2 will have a turn. The number sentences do not have to be 1+1=2, they can be something like 5+4=13-2 .. You just need to have the titles to create it.

This is a great addition to your math app folder for students who understand the four basic operations. Just like with Scrabble, the players have to think about what number sentence they plan to create.

Quick Math is one of several math apps by Shiny Things. Quick Math is currently $1.99, but I have seen it free before! This app is geared toward students learning simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Shiny Things does have an app for younger and older students.

Quick Math is rather simple and reminds of a flash cards. Students can create an account, but the teacher doesn't get any reports from these accounts.

Next the student selects the operation and the level.

Students will see math problems appear on the screen. In order to answer, the student has to write the answer using their finger. I like this instead of having them select from four choices.

I like this app, because it gives students a way to practice their math facts on an individual basis because the app gives you feedback. With flash cards, you really need a second person in order to get that feedback.

You can also read my thoughts of this app on Common Sense Graphite here.

What are your thoughts? Have you used any of the Shiny Things apps in your classroom?

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Read*Write*Think is a great website ELA teachers and students need to include in their daily online experience. For teachers, it provides classroom activities and professional development resources. For students, it provides classroom interactives on a variety of ELA topics and grade levels.

Read*Write*Think also has 9 mobile apps teachers can add to their iOS and/or Android device. One of those apps is Word Mover. Word Mover allows students to create poetry from a variety of word banks. Users can also create their own words. The words are be moved (hence the name of the app) around to create their own unique poem. Once created, the poem can be emailed and/or saved.

So why do you want to add this app to your device.. one word - poetry! Poetry was never a fun topic for me. I'm not creative with words. This app lets the students manipulate words to create their own poetry masterpiece. There is something appealing about moving tiles rather than using an eraser every few minutes.